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Fladgate LLP 
25 North Row, London W1K 6DJ
Lex 100 winner
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The trainee verdict

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The lowdown (in their own words...)


Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'It was a mid-sized firm with work which easily competes with the large City firms'; 'it had the right work type, it was the right size and in the right location'; 'there was more emphasis on partner and client contact here than at other firms'

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'We seem to have a better quality of work and a better work/life balance'; 'the supervision I get is better and the opportunities to experience a wide range of work are also better'; 'I appear to get a lot more hands-on experience and more responsibility in cases and files than at larger firms'

Best thing about the firm? ''Enjoying the work I do and enjoying working with and learning from my colleagues'; 'there is a very good work/life balance'; 'the people are friendly to work with'; 'you're expected to work hard and stay to complete your work but there is no need to be seen leaving the office late' 

Worst thing about the firm? 'I would like to have more social events'; 'you don't have that much control or choice over your seat allocations'; 'I would like to see a better display of the firm's appreciation of our work'

Best moment? 'When I was the sole representative of our firm at the Croydon County Court. I had overall responsibility for the case and was the first point of call for the client. I instructed Counsel and attended the hearing on my own with the client'; 'attendance at trials'

Worst moment? 'Going up in front of a Master at Court when I was unprepared and unbriefed in a matter'; 'sometimes when I am not being given the opportunity to learn, eg having to do menial tasks'



The Lex 100 verdict

The firm

Fladgate is a medium-sized commercial firm with a strong client base consisting of multinationals, major institutions, listed companies, banks, lenders, entrepreneurs and SMEs. The firm is divided into three departments: corporate, property and litigation. Fladgate sells itself as giving clients the highest possible level of partner service but at competitive rates. Clients say the teams 'give great advice and are very dynamic and knowledgeable'.


The star performers

Aviation; Commercial litigation; Commercial property; Corporate restructuring and insolvency; Employment; Flotations (small and mid-cap); M&A (smaller deals up to £50m); Media and entertainment; Personal tax, trusts and probate; Professional negligence; Property finance; Sport.

The deals

Advised Mortice on its admission to AIM; advising on urban regeneration schemes such as HDG Mansur's development in Bristol; recently attracted a number of property mandates in the nursing home sector; advising Tritax Securities 1 on raising £175m for commercial property purchases; advised a national housebuilder in connection with a corporate purchaser's failure to complete its acquisition of multiple properties.

The clients

Bank of Ireland; Bank of Scotland; Cathedral; Charles Stanley Securities; Close Brothers; Mount Anvil; Odeon Cinemas; Random House; Starbucks; Strand Partners; Zog Group; Zurich Bank.

The money

(from Legal Business magazine)

Turnover in 2008: £27.1m (+6% from 2007) Profits per equity partner: £621,000 (+2%)


The Lex 100 verdict

Fladgate is a new entry to the Lex 100 this year and is praised by current trainees for its varied and well-rounded training contract, which covers the firm's three main areas of corporate, property and litigation. They like the size of the firm and the size of the trainee intake which allows them to feel like individuals rather than just one of the crowd. They are impressed that the quality of work is 'often better than that of peers at larger firms' and feel 'we can easily compete with the City big boys'. Trainees also compare their work/life balance very favourably with peers elsewhere and feel they get more hands-on experience and day-to-day responsibility for files and cases. They have good supervision and contact with partners and plenty of opportunity to ask for help, but also the scope to try new tasks. Work varies from assisting on large corporate transactions to running litigation matters in the County Court, where trainees are regularly 'the first point of call for the client'. In one case a trainee comments 'I had overall responsibility for the case, instructed Counsel and attended the hearing on my own with the client – I've never heard of any of my peers having that much responsibility'. The positive outlook for trainees at Fladgate is further illustrated by the fact that the firm is a Lex 100 Winner in the 'confident you'll be kept on' category. On the downside, trainees would like more organised social events and more control over their seat allocations and some feel there could perhaps be better appreciation for the work they do. However for a broad-based, hands-on training contract in a successful mid-sized corporate firm, Fladgate is certainly worth a look.

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About the firm

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